I am very proud to read at broadband.gov that my friend
Dr. David S. Isenberg has joined the broadband team as an Expert Advisor, and will be working on how physical infrastructure choices facilitate or impede policy options. David is best known to the telecom policy world as the author of the 1997 essay, The Rise of the Stupid Network. When Dale Hatfield was Chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, he called The Rise of the Stupid Network “one of three works that changed my perception of the telecommunications industry.”
I have been warned to “lower my expectations,” as the wheels of government do not move at top speed or toward full enlightenment. That said, I remain optimistic!
Life, Policy, Scenarios FCC, infrastructure, isen.com, Policy, stupid network
The FCC recently posted a Notice of Inquiry, FCC-09-51. The purpose of this NOI is stated in the Introduction, which begins:
This Notice of Inquiry seeks comment to inform the development of a national broadband plan for our country. Its focus is to enable the build-out and utilization of high-speed broadband infrastructure. But “infrastructure” barely hints at the importance of what we are undertaking. High-speed ubiquitous broadband can help to restore America’s economic well-being and open the doors of opportunity for more Americans, no matter who they are, where they live, or the particular circumstances of their lives. It is technology that intersects with just about every great challenge facing our nation.
I signed and support this Comment in response to the NOI. The comment points out that (1) the term “broadband” is not the same as the Internet, (2) broadband’s true value is that it gives access to the Internet, and therefore (3) when designing a National broadband policy, we should make sure that it supports the value of the Internet.
Network, Policy broadband, Comment, definitions, infrastructure, Internet, national broadband plan, Net Neutrality, Network, NOI, Policy
What happens when the infrastructure of the net becomes oligopoly-controlled? Services become limited, prices go up. I’m hardly the first to point this out.
Larry Lessig wrote in his book The Future of Ideas about the possibility that given a few subtle changes to the Internet’s infrastructure it would be relatively easy for the cable companies or another small handful of telcos or other large businesses to take control of the Net, turning it into the kind of closed systems TV or the old telephone networks used to be. This dire prediction may be upon us.
Comcast has been progressively turning on functions to block VPN traffic for the last four or five months. If you fight through the Comcast site to find the terms of service you discover that’s only the beginning. Under their rules prohibiting you from using your Internet connection for ‘any business purpose’ you are arguably in violation if you so much as buy a book from Amazon.com.
Network blocking, business, cable, closed network, Comcast, DSL, infrastructure, Net Neutrality, Network, oligopoly, prohibitions, telecom, VPN